CENTRAL CROSSINGS Monthly Newsletter of the e Central Railway Model & Historical Association, Inc.

Volume 24, Issue 1 January 2014

Florida Photo-Fest 108 Werner St Photos by Ralph Watson Central, SC 29627 Ralph Watson took a little trip to Florida in November and sent pictures of an operating layout in the Gulf Coast Model Railroad Hobby Shop in Sarasota as Website: well as some photos of the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish. www.crmha.org

President Dan Marrett

Vice Presidents Joe Fitzpatrick Rob Seel, AIA

Stationmaster Ralph Watson

Paymaster [Ed. Note: These are the biggest mountains I have ever heard of in Florida] Christine Grewcock

Curator Jack Green

Newsletter J.T. Thorpe

Next Meeting Jan. 2, 2014 7:10 PM at the Central Railway Museum

Approach Signals SCHEDULED EVENTS & SHOWS 

January 18, 2014 , GA – 46 th Atlanta Model Train Show North Atlanta Trade Center, 1700 Jeurgens Court. Upcoming Events for the Times: Saturday 9am-4pm Admission: Adults: $7 Children under 12: Free Central Railway Model & Historical w/adult Association [email protected] as well as regional shows and events worth mentioning January 25, 2014 Columbia, SC – Columbia South Carolina PROGRAM SCHEDULE Model Train Show SC State Fairgrounds, Rosewood Bldg., 1200 January 2: TBD Rosewood Drive Times: 9:30am-3:30pm The rest of 2014 is Wide Open Admission: Adults: $6, Children under 12: Free, Scouts in uniform: Free www.knightshows.org nd 2 SATURDAY MUSEUM OPEN TO THE PUBLIC January 11, 2014 FEBRUARY 1 --- 222,2, 2, 20142 014 February 11, 2014 EASLEY, SCSCSC

OPERATING SESSIONS Second Thursdays (usually) 7PM OUR

January 9, 2014 SHOW February 9, 2014

The CRM&HA has begun regular operating February 1-2, 2014 sessions on the Thursday preceding our Easley, SC – CRM&HA 2014 Annual Train Museum’s open house each month. Club Show members interested in learning how to operate J.B. “Red” Owens Sports Complex, Bagwell the layout and gain their certification in order Gymnasium, 111 Walkers Way to be able to run trains on the museum layout Times: Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 12pm-5pm are encouraged to attend these sessions. Admission: Adults: $6, Children under 10: Free w/adult If you have locomotives equipped with DCC www.crmha.org decoders and/or you have a Digitrax handheld throttle, please bring them. This way, we can be assured of having enough equipment to cCENTRAL aCENTRAL run.

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 2 Florida Photo-Fest  Photos by Ralph Watson

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 3 Z

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 4 General Meeting for President, First Vice President, and Secretary were the incumbents Dan Marret, Joe Minutes Fitzpatrick, and Ralph Watson respectively. By Ralph Watson On motions duly made and seconded Stationmaster nominations were closed and the above December 5, 2013 nominees were approved for a two year term by Holiday Meeting unanimous ballot. 50 +/- members and guests met at the Museum Operating Sessions - Sandy Eustis for social hour and running trains at 6PM. Announced that the regular monthly operating Company adjourned at 7PM to Pancho’s session would take place on December 12. Restaurant for supper. Fred Rimer led the group There being no further business, the meeting in giving thanks. was adjourned back to the Museum . Z After the meal President Dan Marret brought the business meeting to order. No mi nat ion s an d Ele cti on of Off ice rs:

No mi nati ons

Don Baldwin stopped at Silver Plume, CO and got this photo of Shay #9 in Christmas gear.

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA November 2013 - Page | 5

Red Rock Northern Southern  Report & Photos by Don Brady

Any of you that have been following my progress (or lack of) will know the track plan I adopted was from a MR track plan book and seemed to fit the area I had to work with. With a little modification, I was able to make it fit; and with some ingenious innovation by Sandy Eustis and Bob Folsom, I was able to make it work. You also know that I have tried to set a location and a period for the layout. I have also tried to tie everything together with a story behind the layout, so it just wouldn’t be a hodge-podge of buildings and trains.

After much research and cogitation, I have chosen Red Rock, Arizona as the setting for my mythical interchange/service facility. The time period is from 1860 to 1960 depending on the equipment running at the time. Since it is located in SW Arizona before the advent of super roads and Interstates (Red Rock, Arizona is actually located just off I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix), I am officially changing the name of my layout to the Red Rock Southern!!!

I have chosen a series of backdrops from the Walthers scenic collection and they fit perfectly with the landscape of the area.

NOTE: these names were taken from a satellite view of the area on MapQuest.com! There is Pichaco Peak State Park to the NW, which will fit perfectly with my desert to mountain transition. There is the Saguaro National Park – West, SE of town and Ironwood Forest National Monument to the SW of town.

Everything fits perfectly with my backdrop. By the time you read this, I hope my backdrop is in place and I am moving on to the scenery.

The main purpose of this article was to give you a behind the scenes look of how I did my scenery, for any that may be interested, before I closed it up with the last foam board.

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 6 Since my backdrop sections were 24” x 36”, I had to change my supports. I cut them 32” long and screwed them to the deck. I used 1” x 3” for the main supports on 12” centers with 1” x 4” for the curved corner sections for more support. Here you can see the 1X4 in each corner. I then used a 1” x 2” along the top (screwed into the supports) to keep everything square, plumb and rigid. I have 3” corner braces in the corners to hold everything together. This will be the location of “Boot Hill”.

The scenery will wrap around the corners as shown below. I used ¼” fanfold foam so I could curve the scenery around the narrow ledge of the track. REMEMBER. I AM ONLY WORKING IN A 2’ x 4’ space on each module.

I am considering adding an extension shelf to the inside to increase my scenery space. This was the purpose of the larger supports to give more “grab” for the glue.

Here you can see how fluidly the sections transition. This is the first segment, the Dry wash desert.

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 7 The next segment, Saguaro cactus desert, is behind “Boot Hill” and flows to the next segment.

This will show you how seamlessly the sections join and transition. I am by no means an artist, as I know several in the club are, but I was amazed at the quality and the fluidity of these backdrops. I highly recommend them for anyone that wants something quick and easy (relatively speaking), they are a pain to hold, glue and keep straight.

I guess I have rattled enough for now and need to get back to “working on the railroad”. I hope I have been informative for any newcomers. Hope to see you next month.

I hope and pray everyone has a good Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year. If I don’t see you here, or there; I hope to see you in the air. Z

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 8 Chaplain’s Corner  Did You Know?  2014 marks the 120 th anniversary of the Happy New Year, everyone! Are you looking . Founded July 1, 1894, it was forward to what this New Year might bring for the result of the reorganization and each of us. Are we ready? consolidation of The Richmond & Danville Railroad System (also known as the Is this the year for His return? In this past year Air Line), and the East Tennessee, Virginia & we have lost at least two club members, and we Georgia Railway (the Kennesaw Route). These miss them. Some of you may have lost a loved railroads were operated by Thomas & William one too, but wouldn’t it be terrific if this would P. Clyde, who were steamship operators from be the year we would see them again? Philadelphia, through a holding company known as the Richmond & West Point Terminal Our club has become a special part of my life, Railway & Warehouse Co. and I am sure for yours too. That’s why I feel comfortable, once in a while, getting a little In 1887, a court order nullified the railroad personal, if that’s alright. My number one leases held by the Clyde interests. In the early concern is that we’re all ready, when OUR time 1890s, the Clydes attempted to acquire the comes. Central Railroad & Banking Co. (Central of Georgia), and suffered a financial collapse. All my life I’ve had to “be ready”. As a child, I The bankrupt properties were sold under had to be ready for dinner by washing my foreclosure, and J.P. Morgan & Co., New York hands. As an adult, being ready for important Bankers, reorganized and consolidated the responsibilities is still a reality, even in my various properties into the Southern Railway retirement years. But I’ve come to realize System. The Southern Railway’s first president there’s nothing more important than being ready was Samuel Spencer, who served from 1894 for the last train out of Dodge (your town, your until 1906, and for whom Spencer Shops is life). So, let’s trudge on as a team, and make named. 2014 the best year yet. Source: Southern Railway System: Steam Locomotives and Boats , by R.E. Prince -Chaplain Fred- Z

Modelers’ Tip  Joe Fitzpatrick demonstrated the following tip during one of our Function Junction operating sessions. My 2-10-2 steamer had been running fine for most of the morning. All of a sudden, it would not respond to any speed commands from the remote throttle I had. All the sounds worked fined, and plugging the throttle in didn’t help. In desperation, I changed direction, and the locomotive moved! Reversing direction again, locomotive moved a little before stopping again. I thought I had a cracked gear! Joe was able to diagnose the problem and save me a little expense and a frustrating time rather than sending it back to the factory. Apparently, the side rods on one side had started binding against the other pieces of the drive assembly. Joe made a very slight adjustment, bending some of the metal so it wouldn’t bind against itself. Sometimes an aggravating problem can have a very simple solution if you have the patience to look for it. Thanks Joe!

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 9 “1401” = Serendipity?  Article by J.T. Thorpe, Photo © Wes Barris (steamlocomotive.com)

on the Southern Railway System and its January 2014. When I saved the newsletter on subsidiaries. my computer this month, I stored it in a directory with the year and month as part of the #1401 was assigned to the Charlotte Division of name: 14_01. This year is the 120 th anniversary the Southern Railway (hence the word of the Southern Railway, and the Smithsonian “Charlotte” is painted on the cab). The Charlotte has a Southern Railway Ps-4 Pacific 4-6-2 Division at the time included Greenville, SC and locomotive on display, and it happens to be Salisbury/Spenser, NC, so 1401 is definitely numbered #1401. part of our local railroad heritage.

Built in 1926 as one of an order of 12 Ps-4 class #1401 was placed into passenger service and locomotives by the American Locomotive received the distinctive British-inspired green Company in its Richmond, VA shops, 1401 and gold paint scheme of Southern’s passenger received the distinctive British-inspired green fleet. It ended its days in freight service, and not gold, and silver paint scheme of Southern’s long after 1401 was retired in 1952, she was passenger fleet. These Ps-4s received larger offered to the Smithsonian Institute as a prime tenders (14,000 gallon capacity) to make 300- example of steam power for the Institute’s mile runs with fewer water stops. These “America on the Move” display. locomotives had 73” drivers, with a weight of 304,000 lbs and, 47,500 lbs of tractive effort. In November 1961, with a great deal of publicized effort, #1401 was moved from These heavy and powerful engines pulled up to temporary storage in Alexandria, VA to its 15 heavyweight passenger cars on the Southern current home in the Museum of Science and Railway’s premier trains, such as the Technology and has been on display since the Limited, Piedmont Limited, and the , opened 50 years ago in January 1964! Z and were assigned to the fastest passenger runs

Central Crossings – Newsletter of the CRM&HA January 2014 - Page | 10